My favorite professor in college gave each one of the students in my class a 100 on our very first exam. He actually told us how many students made A's, B's, C's, D's, and F's on that exam before he changed our grades to a 100. Now, of all of the people in my class that year, who do you think loved and appreciated our professor the most? Was it those who made an A? Certainly not. I am sure that those who failed the exam had a greater love and appreciation for our professor and the gift of a 100 that he had given. Jesus taught a similar lesson in Luke 7. Those who understand the depth of the forgiveness they have been shown have a greater love for God, the one who has offered the forgiveness that they desperately needed.
Jesus taught about the impact great forgiveness has on a person's life in Luke 7. When a Pharisee had internally judged a woman with a sinful past for anointing Jesus' feet, Jesus knew his thoughts and rebuked them. In His rebuke, he told a story,"' A man loaned money to two people—500 pieces of silver to one and 50 pieces to the other. But neither of them could repay him, so he kindly forgave them both, canceling their debts' (verses 41-42a). Who do you suppose loved him more after that?" The answer was obvious, but the Pharisee Simon answered out loud anyway. "I suppose the one for whom he canceled the larger debt," he said (verse 43). His answer was correct. Jesus confirmed his answer by saying, "a person who is forgiven little shows only little love" (verse 47b).
It is true, the greater depth of forgiveness we have received, the greater love we have for Christ, the one who has forgiven. In God's economy, all sin, great and small, separate us from Him, and therefore all sin is great. Praise God that He offers forgiveness. We have all been forgiven greatly. When we understand the depth of the forgiveness we have been shown, the greater our love is for Him.
Our call today is to practice gratitude for the forgiveness we have been shown. Pull out your journal or a notebook and write a prayer of thanksgiving to God. Thank Him for the forgiveness, love, and mercy that we have been shown. Tell Him how much you love Him and how grateful you are for His grace.
Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”
“No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!
“Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.
“But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.
“But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment.
“His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full.
“When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt.
“That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”
